It was noon, and the sky was still gray. The biting north wind was blowing snowflakes all over the sky, howling among the mountains and fields. The mountains were so heavy with snow that they broke countless trees.
In the wind and snow, which was no longer suitable for going out, there were still figures of people moving in the wilderness beside the unknown mountains. One or two, and as the field of vision became closer, they gradually turned into hundreds of thousands.
The human image is half melted by the howling wind and snow, with blurred black and clear white washed in the wind and snow. In the distance of our field of vision, we can only hear the sound of the wind. Only when we get closer can we see those thin, hungry and cold people.
The figures are fighting with swords, and the roars in the howling wind and snow can be heard.
The blood splashed into an insignificant embellishment in this snowstorm, and after falling to the ground, it was gradually dissolved and buried by the white.
In the wind and snow, a desperate battlefield.
Even the center of the battlefield, where the generals were stationed, was blurred in the heavy snow. On the edge of the battlefield, figures were spreading out in different directions. Some of these half-black and half-white figures started fighting again after meeting.
, in the wind and snow, neither of them had much strength, but when they met, they were killed in hysterics. Some people fell down with bright red colors, some staggered away, and some were searching for things in the pile of corpses, looking around in horror in the wind and snow.
On the edge of the battlefield, close to the mountains, a deserted village had just experienced a battle. Several soldiers gathered in a pool of blood, plundered the belongings of the dead enemies, and rested for a while beside the collapsed earth wall. Their wounds had not been bandaged yet.
, and the fighting comes again.
Some people rushed out with knives, and some took things and tried to escape. In the chaotic conflict, a white figure that was almost integrated with the heavy snow appeared from behind the earth wall, slowly squirming, and rummaged through the pile of supplies that everyone had just collected.
After searching for a while, there were mostly intact clothes and rusty weapons. No food was found during the search. The white infiltrator collected a few pieces of rags in disgust and returned to the wind and snow.
The chaos of the fighting continued. This figure in white clothes, not tall in stature, moved furtively in the wind and snow, dug out things among the dead, stole other people's trophies, and occasionally killed a man wearing leather.
A's solitary team was beating the opponent and took away a small bag of dry food from the opponent's pocket. By the time he quietly returned to the mountain, his body was already bloated.
It can no longer be wasted.
He packed the dry food and rags he had stolen into a bag, put it on his shoulders, and when he sneaked into the forest, he took another look in the direction of the battlefield.
There was only the whistling heavy snow, and there were no traces of people fighting anywhere. Even the little bits of blood soaked in it seemed like they had never appeared before such a biting winter day.
The young man sighed.
Walking through the mountains and forests in the wind and snow, he was very careful in his progress and steps. As he walked, the branches he dragged in his hands were still sweeping the snow on his footprints. He also expected to meet other deserters and have to carry out the battle.
There was a lot of fighting, but this time I was very lucky and didn't meet any unnecessary people.
In the dilapidated house on the other side of the mountain, the figure carrying the baggage found the skinny date horse that had been tied here before, and then rode it eastward in the wind and snow.
The gloomy heavy snow did not stop, and in the evening, he rode his horse into another barren mountain. The road in the mountain was rugged, and the branches weighed down by the heavy snow seemed to have built a maze. He led the horse in a zigzag manner as he went deeper.
, after passing the forest, the sky was already quite dark, and there was only a dark hillside ahead, which was unpopular. The young man pulled out his knife and slowed down.
Snap, snap.
He tapped the blade of the knife against the trees in the snow, making a rhythmic sound. After a while, at the other end of the darkness, a voice was heard: "You, you are back..."
The sound of rustling footsteps sounded, and a figure ran over from the other side of the wind, snow and darkness, and did not stop until it was close to the prescription. The girl's face looked hazy in the darkness, but her happy smile could still be seen: "Xiaohua, you're still here
There is...little dragon..."
"You called it wrong, it's called Bald Donkey." The boy corrected her name for the horse.
"伱, are you okay..."
"...How big a deal it can be." There was a step between the two of them, and the young man snorted, and then said, "I brought food back."
"Um."
The girl nodded, looking him up and down in the dim light, and then she saw the young man leading the horse walking forward, followed closely behind.
The boy asked: "You didn't light a fire?"
"You, you're not here... I don't dare, I'm afraid of being seen..."
"Who can see such heavy snow?"
"……Um."
The girl followed him and took two slow steps in the snow, then two quick steps: "How was their fight?"
"Only the insane fight in this weather."
"……Um."
Two figures kept talking in the dark wind and snow. They walked up the snow slope in front of them. After walking for dozens of steps, they could vaguely see the small snow house in the corner of the mountain ahead.
The bottom of the igloo is naturally made of tree branches, but now it is covered with snow, and it seems to be integrated with the mountain. Only when you get closer can you see the sliding door of the house clearly in the heavy snow. In the igloo
Not far behind, there is a cleverly arranged flue under the rocks of the mountain.
This is the house where Ning Ji and Qu Longjun now live in seclusion.
At the end of September of this year, He Wen's insistence on going his own way set off the breakup of the Fair Party, and Jiangnan fell into war. In October, Jiangnan began to enter the snowy winter, and the continuous war continued.
It didn't stop. Fighting and fire broke out one after another in villages and cities, as if they were swept by the mighty foehn wind. There was almost no place of peace in the once prosperous and prosperous land of Jiangnan.
Ning Ji and Qu Longjun, a young couple, were looking for a place to cultivate themselves in the barren mountains. After bidding farewell to the young monk in October, they encountered several attacks by refugees and rioters, so they had to go deeper into the mountains.
At this time, Ning Ji gradually recovered from the hidden injuries he suffered during the chaos in Jiangning. He used the field skills he learned in the army and built a hidden house in the mountains. In November, he even went out to sneak attack a few scouts and robbed a house.
A skinny jujube horse.
In these days, most people lacked food and clothing, and horses had little to eat. The Zaohua horse was pitifully thin and had sparse hair on its neck. He would rather call it "Bald Donkey", but Qu Longjun took pity on it and privately
He called it "little flower" and helped Ning Ji build a small shed next to the mountain wall for shelter, taking good care of it every day.
In this way, the winter snow in the south of the Yangtze River fell gradually or quickly. The two of them built a small haven in the mountains. They reinforced the shack every day, fed the horses, dried firewood, and made fires for cooking with some difficulty. Ning Ji was there
I kept vigilance all around, and occasionally went out to ambush military scouts and bandits. In order to feed the horses, I even secretly carried fodder back to the military camp a few times. There were a few small incidents of this kind. In the blink of an eye, this year has come.
It’s December 23rd.
The day before, I followed the scouts I met and left here. After the melee, I got supplies. When I returned to the mountains, it was completely dark. Amidst the howling snow and wind, the two of them settled in the shack.
"Bald donkey", and then lit a fire in the stove in the room. When the light flickered, you could see the messy sideburns on the girl's face and the wolfish look of her lips.
Nowadays, Jiangnan has become a desperate place, and the winter this year is also extremely cold. Several members of the Fair Party outside have beaten their heads to pieces. Ordinary people exchange their children for food. It is not uncommon for the army to eat human flesh, even if it is secretly hidden in
In the mountains, the two met several outsiders who had fled the country, and the results of their interactions were not good.
After the boy went out looking for traces of the army yesterday, Qu Longjun didn't dare to light a fire. He probably only ate a little raw food during the day. His condition was naturally not good at this time, but when he saw Ning Ji coming back, there was a smile on his face.
The face of the weak melon seeds became relaxed.
Ning Ji didn't have much to say. After the fire was lit, he put a pot on the stove and started boiling water. Then he stretched out his hand to the other person's forehead. The girl who was adding firewood to the stove knelt down beside the bed and settled down.
When the opponent's hand released, she threw the firewood in, and then her hand was pulled over to check her pulse. She whispered: "It's okay."
"It doesn't matter if you have anything to say."
"……Um."
Between the two of them, Qu Longjun is two years older than Ning Ji, but Ning Ji has the identity of "benefactor" and is good at martial arts. Girls always have no temper when they have a cold face. Of course, Ning Ji's behavior
It wasn't that much when he was brave. After a while, he let go of her hand without saying anything about the diagnosis. Qu Longjun looked at him and buried his head in boiling water, rather than sorting out the things stolen from outside.
In the third month of living together, even this silence seems to have become quite natural.
But in fact, the two people at this moment are in a complex and subtle stage of getting along, and everything they feel is a strange experience.
From the moment Jiang Ning reunited, they were actually very close to each other. In troubled times, "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" filled everyone's heart with joy.
They had known each other in the Southwest. But they had different feelings about that experience.
As for Qu Longjun, she did not know the fact that the boy had been monitoring her for a period of time, nor did she know the reason why the boy rescued her after killing Wen Shoubin.
"My benefactor" is powerful, handsome but also a bit arrogant. She often finds her a bit difficult to get close to, and even - I don't know why - she seems to have called her "little bitch" a few times.
Why he scolded her with such insulting words was unclear to her, and why he had to save her after scolding her has always been a mystery to her.
That night in the southwest courtyard, the young man's decisiveness and coldness in killing people left a deep impression on her heart. If such a person really had a problem with her, it would not be unimaginable to kill her.
things.
After that incident, Wen Shoubin no longer controlled her, and then she left the Huaxia Army because of her father's hatred. She was alone. It was like starting over from scratch, but she also became completely helpless. Speaking of the impression in her memory
The people who are more profound are nothing more than Aunt Gu of the Huaxia Army and this "little benefactor". After the Fairness Party showed its ferocious face in September, she heard the name of this "little benefactor" and even had a fight with him.
When we met again, I felt like I had a place to go.
But is this idea real? Is it her wishful thinking? Her cold face when she was in the Southwest, her name as "little bitch", and how the other party viewed her, these things are hard to think about.
As for Ning Ji, the reunion with the little bitch was the most unimaginable thing during this trip away from home. He didn’t know whether this feeling was warmth or joy. As a straight man, especially in the southwest just recently
A man of steel who has been hurt by a bitch does not want to think too much about feeling warm towards someone of the opposite sex, let alone say it out of his mouth.
Just like the reaction in Zhangcun when he heard that the little bitch left alone, she was going to die, but he had no way to do it. What could he say? He didn't want her to die? He only saved her out of simple humanitarianism.
She learned that "women hold up half the sky" and made the decision to be independent and self-reliant. If she was extremely worried, what would happen to her.
"He Wen loves Gao Chang" is so shameful, let alone "Long Aotian is worried about the little bitch".
After leaving the southwest, he actually didn't think too much about the reason for his obsession to spread Long Aotian's reputation. Zhang Cun's evaluation was certainly one aspect, but in fact,
After Long Aotian's name was slandered as a "five-foot obscene demon", he could have just changed his name to "Undefeated in the East, Failed in the West" or something like that and started all over again.
In order to hunt down Yu Xiaoer, he left the southwest and traveled three thousand miles away. The moment the little bitch found him, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
These words were not easy to say, and he did not even realize it. At the beginning of the reunion, all they could talk about was a series of experiences after coming out of the southwest. Soon after, there was actually less to communicate with.
Ning Ji's background and family background, including many specific matters in the Chinese Army, he could not discuss too much with him; on the other hand, Qu Longjun's father died at the hands of the Chinese Army, and she was later sold into a thief
Horses, brought to the southwest to cause destruction, these materials are not suitable topics to be discussed openly. It is difficult to mention the past, and a young man and woman aged fifteen or sixteen can not talk much.
One month before they got along, Ning Ji was injured. Qu Longjun took care of his little benefactor, which was the right thing to do. After they reunited, there was nothing weird about living together.
When the little bald donkey came, they were still holding hands together, and they seemed quite natural to each other.
After that, wars broke out and people and bandits fled. The two went into the mountains and built a small shack. Occasionally, while working, they had more natural conversations. Once he was free, Ning Ji didn't know what to say. He was very worried.
He was arrogant and had a calm expression, just like the young doctor in the southwest. Qu Longjun only thought that he had a mediocre nature, and occasionally talked to him, but at other times he was more restrained. When Ning Ji snatched back the "little bald donkey"
", there were a lot of topics between the two of them because of this jujube horse. Qu Longjun took good care of this little pet, and Ning Ji also went out to grab a few batches of fodder. Occasionally, he would scold this little "bald donkey" in disgust.
", Qu Longjun would also cutely correct him.
Troubled times continue, and the surrounding world is miserable. Inexplicable wars, fighting, and exchanges of food among refugees have all appeared. It seems that it is an undoubted choice for acquaintances with good intentions to depend on each other in this environment. This is their choice.
There is no need to talk about the part of living together in the mountains.
However, when they calm down, the two of them will inevitably think in their hearts that they are a boy and a girl of this age after all. Such a gathering seems unnecessary at the moment, but what will happen next?
These thoughts appear and disappear, just like many people quietly feel at a certain age, because of getting along with a certain person, warmth, good feelings, ambiguity, heartbeat, anxiety... these thoughts will appear if they exist.
They appear and fall like nothing, sometimes like branches and shadows intertwined on the wall of a wooden house, sometimes like tides and fireworks. Many years later, they will become the best memories in the heart, which people will mention occasionally or forever.
They don't tell anyone, but at this moment, it supports their quiet and anxious relationship.
The small shack that was hastily built in October is not spacious. It has a stove and two narrow beds on both sides. It is almost all the "furniture" in the whole room. The bed is just chopped wood and covered with leaves.
A temporary arrangement of hay and some pieces of patchwork cloth. The stove provides some warmth for this small bed. In order to avoid being suffocated by smoke at night, there is a special flue next to the stove, which is covered with mud. This is the room.
The most thought-provoking place in the house.
In the quiet silence, Qu Longjun heated up hot water and twisted a small piece of coarse cloth to wipe Ning Ji's face. Ning Ji had already classified today's spoils: some scattered food, it seems.
Usable blades, breast shields, various pieces of cloth, and even a beautifully embroidered bellyband in the middle - Ning Ji snatched it from a soldier. As for where the other party got it from, he couldn't.
category of careful consideration.
Taking the coarse cloth handed over by the other party and wiping his face casually, he pointed to a small leather bag beside Qu Longjun's bed and asked her to put the hot water into it and put it into his arms - this was Qu Longjun's birthday in November.
When Jun Yue's incident happened, he went outside to steal a bag. Qu Longjun said: "I'm fine." He knelt down by the stove and filled the bag with water, put it into his clothes, and then left.
I washed the piece of cloth with hot water, turned it aside and wiped my cheek.
Distribute the things, put them away, continue to light the fire, and cook... The originally cold room has gradually warmed up. While cooking, Qu Longjun knelt down beside the bed and put the leather bag aside because he thought it would be in the way. Ning Ji
After looking at it, she pursed her lips and pointed. Qu Longjun stuck out his tongue and stuffed it in again. The firelight flickered, and her face gradually became less ugly.
Soon after, the two had dinner.
After dinner, Qu Longjun tidied up for a while, threaded his needle and thread in the firelight, took out Ning Ji's tattered clothes, and sat there and began to mend them. As a martial arts practitioner, Ning Ji was quite active on weekdays and left the southwest for half a year.
Much later, he encountered a heavy snowfall that he had never experienced in his childhood. Only then did he realize that what he spent most on daily life was clothes. The clothes outside were often torn. In the recent period, it was thanks to Qu Longjun's time and again.
Handle it for him.
The wind and snow were howling outside the room, and occasionally topics like this would arise.
"Tomorrow is the New Year's Eve, and it's snowing so heavily." Qu Longjun mended his clothes, "Why do they want to fight in this weather? They will freeze to death."
"Because it's not about fighting in the first place, it's about killing people..."
"……Um?"
"When we were in the southwest, the Chinese army fought for victory and defeat, and the Jurchens also fought for victory and defeat. But there were also times when the granaries were at the bottom and there was not enough food. No matter whether they fought or not, tens of millions of people could not survive.
There is only food for five million people. No matter what, at least five million people will die. Instead of sitting at home and starving to death, it is better to go out and kill them. The dead should not complain, and the living can at least have some
Ration... When I was in the southwest, some people in the army said this. When I got here, I saw it for the first time..."
Although he was only fifteen years old and had a rather out-of-touch temperament, he was in the Chinese military and was in contact with many knowledgeable senior officials. Many words he didn’t understand at the time, but during his travels along the way, he saw a lot of complicated things, which made some sense.
Then he confirmed it one by one. At this time, the young man was leaning on the stove. When talking about this matter, his mood was not high, but he had an air of concern for the country and the people, which was very different from the temperament when he was with the real little bald donkey.
.
"Previously in Jiangning, He Wen was high-sounding, saying that he wanted to take back power and clean up, but in fact it was not for this reason. The Fair Party was engaged in vandalism, looting and looting in Jiangnan. After two years of messing around, the water towns, granaries and various savings in Jiangnan have been destroyed.
At the end of the day, if we really hold a conference and clean up a bunch of fools, many people will still starve to death by the end of the year. Instead of being scolded by others, it is better for everyone to show up and fight, and beat to death those who can't feed them.
Heap, if he has more food on hand, he can draw all the surviving elites to his side... It was originally his fault, and he couldn't clean it up, so he simply put the blame on others and let Xu Zhaonan and Shi Bao
Feng, Zhou and Shang are going to die after taking the blame, huh, he is too smart... He is not a good thing..."
"My father was also a general who led the army back then, but I never heard him say these things..."
"My dad..."
Ning Ji continued casually, then paused for a moment, "...My father...back in Hedeng, he was sweeping the floor in Mr. Ning's office."
"...Huh?" Qu Longjun blinked.
"So he won't say this, but all the children in the Huaxia Army have to go to school, and there are many children in the army. Everyone talks and talks, and I understand."
"Well, they say that the Chinese army improved the paper-making method and established the structure of objects. All the children here can learn and understand things. Even girls are treated equally. This is the great virtue of education... Mr. Ning is really amazing..."
"No, I think that reading depends on the person. I can't learn it. The same goes for my brother. I don't want to learn. My brother wants to learn but can't learn well. When it comes to reading and literacy, among the people I know,
, maybe you are even better."
During the three months of getting along, the two of them didn't talk much about each other, but in the occasional speculative chats, Qu Longjun could often quote scriptures and vividly speak out those allusions. In conversations with straight men, he was quite able to adjust the mood.
Some atmosphere, and as a scumbag, Ning Ji has always yearned for such scholars. If you look into it more deeply, he was seduced by Yu Xiaoer in the southwest before, and he fell in love with him, and he was more or less attracted to him.
It is the addition of the teacher factor.
The snowy wind was howling outside the snow house, and the fire was beeping in the room. Qu Longjun mended his clothes and bit off the threads. Perhaps because it was approaching the end of the year, the two of them whispered many words to each other. Qu Longjun
Long Jun was sitting on the bed over there, holding her knees with her hands - she often sat in this position, sometimes burying her chin in her folded arms - speaking softly, while Ning Ji was already lying down here.
On the bed.
Ning Ji talked about the excitement of the Chinese army during the festival, and also talked about the embarrassing things about having fun with a bunch of friends, and even talked about the bombing of the latrine and his own experience of the latrine being bombed. After a while, he saw that Qu Longjun was not
If you mind, I just talked about things at home a little bit.
"In my family... I have several aunts, brothers and sisters-in-law, and younger brothers and sisters. When I come out this time, my sisters will probably miss me, and my brothers and sisters-in-law will also miss my father and mother..."
"Mom will cry..."
"My dad... I don't know if he will think about it. He probably won't cry, but if something happens to me outside, he will probably be very sad..."
"A ruthless man may not necessarily be a hero, but a pity for a child is not a husband." The two of them said this, and they didn't know what time of night it was. Listening to this, Qu Longjun had a complicated look in his eyes, "You are so good, they will definitely think about it.
.”
Hearing the words "You are so kind", Ning Ji's face felt slightly hot, and then he said: "... ruthless people may not be true heroes, Lianzi... what... well, your poems are good..."
"Isn't this a poem written by Mr. Ning..."
"Ah, Ning...my dad only sweeps the floor, he didn't teach me this...you read a lot."
He glanced at Qu Longjun and didn't know what he thought of, but the girl's eyes lowered slightly. She hugged her knees and leaned back slightly, her somewhat complicated eyes hidden in the darkness.
The room was quiet for a moment.
Then there was continued silence.
Ning Ji wanted to find some topics naturally, but couldn't find any for a while.
At a certain moment when the silence seemed to last forever, he heard Qu Longjun speak from the other side.
"Little, Brother Xiaolong..."
"……Um?"
The other party's words were as calm as possible, but there was a slight tremor in the details:
"...You...you came out from the southwest, do you have any mission?"
"Well……"
"I know it may be inconvenient for you to say, but..."
…
"But...if the snow melts in the spring next year, can you...can you..."
…
"Can you……"
…
"...Take me with you?"
…
The sound of the wind and snow seemed to get louder, whistling in the ears. In the stove, the warm yellow firelight swayed across their bodies and cheeks. Ning Ji opened his mouth and his voice got stuck.
"That, uh... cough, is... I have a mission... um..."
He paused and looked over there.
"It's fine."
The meaning of this sentence was not clear, but because of the firmness of the tone, the girl seemed to understand, relaxed her body, nodded, and sat there, straightening her legs.
This action was very beautiful. Ning Ji moved his eyes away, his heart pounded, and his mood actually relaxed.
In the warm snowy night, the two of them talked a lot of nonsense in this relaxed mood. The girl talked about things in the book and told him stories. Then she told him that Wen Shoubin forced her to read, play the piano and dance.
Things like that seemed to explain to him the origin of these skills.
Ning Ji was not stupid, he could hear the meaning of her words at this time, and he could also hear the caution in her tone. She learned from her father's poems. Although she had the impure intentions of Wen Shoubin and others back then, but now
Wen Shoubin's grave had grass growing, and even the grass in the south of the Yangtze River was almost burned away. What does these things have to do with each other?
What's more, he doesn't want to go back to the southwest at all now. Yu Xiao'er hasn't been killed yet, and the stigma of "the five-foot obscene devil" hasn't been washed away to "the best in the world". It would be too shameful to go back and be beaten, and it is inevitable to meet Qin Weiwen.
Being laughed at.
After a while, during the conversation between the two, Qu Longjun asked him about his future direction again. He thought about it carefully and made a decision.
"I want to go to Fuzhou first."
he said.
"Look at what the little emperor and the little princess look like."
The Fair Party was in chaos, and cannibalism began in Jiangnan. The young monk went to Jin, and Zou Xu and Liu Guangshi had their brains beaten out in the Central Plains. The only peaceful place nearby had to go to Fuzhou, and Yu Xiaoer might have gone there too.
.
Moreover, when she goes to a peaceful place, she can also place the "little bitch" who follows her - or it's hard to call her a little bitch now, so what should she call her? Little bitch dragon? - After all, my martial arts skills
You are not invincible yet. If you follow someone by your side, don't take too many risks.
He thought for a while and realized that he was not that adventurous. Now he had a little bitchy dog and a little "bald donkey" that could carry things. When the spring comes, he could also bring pots and pans with him.
, you can also bring two more bags, it’s no different from a spring outing.
It’s so fun to go see the sea...
The fire in the stove gradually became smaller and blocked the partition, but it was still emitting heat. Ning Ji mumbled about making plans, talking about the legendary sea, and fell asleep in a daze...